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Ex-Student Gets Year In Prison For Wesleyan Drug Overdoses

Wesleyan University senior and neuroscience major Eric Lonergan, 22, is arraigned at Middletown Superior Court on Wednesday, Feb. 25 for possession of controlled substances among other charges. Courtroom pool photo by Patrick Raycraft | praycraft@courant.com

HARTFORD, Conn. (CBS Connecticut and AP) – A former student at Wesleyan University in Connecticut will serve a year and a day in prison for selling drugs involved in a series of on-campus overdoses.

Eric Lonergan, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was sentenced Thursday in Hartford. He pleaded guilty in November to a drug conspiracy charge.

Prosecutors say Lonergan sold drugs from his dorm room and told students how to ingest them.

Eleven people were hospitalized and one nearly died after ingesting the drugs last year. Several people also became ill in September 2014 after taking the drugs. Police say the victims thought they were taking MDMA, or Molly, but the drugs contained a synthetic cannabinoid.

Zachary Kramer, of Bethesda, Maryland, was sentenced to four months in prison in May for his role in selling the drugs.